DADDY'S GIRL
“I’m a blues baby,” Zakiya Hooker declares with a hearty laugh. As the daughter of legendary blues artist John Lee Hooker, this introduction doesn’t seem strange at all - one would imagine, after all, that her life’s path was mapped out from an early age. What is peculiar, however, is that this unassuming woman didn’t actually delve into her gene pool and start performing the blues herself until she was in her early forties.
Worathep caught up with Zakiya (Swahili for “intelligence,” and Hebrew for “pure, exonerated”) and her husband and producer Ollan Christopher, himself a recording artist who has worked with The Natural 4 and Curtis Mayfield, over lunch at the appropriately named Shack Restaurant on Bo Phut Beach, where the couple have been on somewhat of a busman’s holiday, soaking up the Thai culture during the day and belting out their own blues heritage for eager audiences by night.
“Coming out of the States we were a bit apprehensive about travelling to this corner of the world but we are having a wonderful time over here. It’s been great being able to play for all the people who’ve come to see us,” says Zakiya enthusiastically.
The obvious opening question has to be: How has being the daughter of John Lee Hooker helped your career? “Well obviously it opened some doors – but at the same time it caused others to close,” she answers. “Many people, especially in the States, are kind of skeptical and don’t think you deserve to be recognised for your own talent and are just trading on the name of your father. Funnily enough, people abroad seem more open. It’s hard being the child of someone famous. I often think of Natalie Cole and all the trouble she had earning respect. She overcame the pressure and produced some great music. As for myself, I just feel blessed to be able to perform,” says Zakiya.
So why was Zakiya, emersed in the blues tradition from birth, such a late starter as a perfomer in her own right? As she tells her life story you get the feeling that she was merely building her resume of life’s experiences before unleashing her deepest feelings on the world. “I chose to make family my priority,” she answers. Family life, however, has been no bed of roses for this tough woman. Born in Detroit, Vera Lee Hooker was married by age 19 and a mother by 20. Within years she separated from her first husband, the father of her three sons, and took her young children to California. The husband died from a drug overdose not long after.
“Looking back at all the pitfalls surrounding the music business, I’m glad I was a late starter. Maybe I would have been strong enough to resist, but maybe not. Who knows? You need maturity to be able to deal with this industry,” she confides.
Zakiya’s life took a more positive turn when she met Ollan Christopher in 1987. At the time Ollan was working in his studio producing some music for one of his sons. “I heard her singing in the background and recognised her talent. I told her that this is what she should be doing,” remembers Ollan. They started making music together.
“I was honest with Zakiya right from the beginning. I told her she was an African-American in her 40s competing with so many others. She had to be better than the next person. I put everything I knew behind her to make her better. She’s come a long way,” he adds.
“I don’t get any preferential treatment in the studio from Ollan. If anything he’s harder on me than others. I definitely don’t get coddled but Ollan has taken the time to nurture me as a performer,” notes Zakiya.
In 1991 Zakiya made her first public appearance in a duet with her father, and by 1993 she had released her first album
Another Generation of the Blues on London-based Silvertone/Zomba Records. But even as her music career blossomed, Zakiya battled further personal tragedy. Around the time her music career was beginning to attract favourable reviews her son, John, was killed in an auto accident. Not long after another son, Maurice, was jailed for life. Is this the stuff her blues is made of?
“I don’t carry my bad experiences around with me. My inspiration for the blues is my love of performing. I deal with the loss of my sons in other ways,’ she says.
“There is the occasional song,” remarks Ollan.
“That’s true, but I try not to look back. I’ll be walking through the house and a traditional blues song will come into my head. That truly allows you to pour out your feelings but, on the whole, I try to leave the bad experiences in the past,” Zakiya responds.
So when she’s not recording or panning back across the career of her famous father, who died in 2001, what sort of music does she listen to? “Traditional blues, comtemporary blues, light jazz, gospel even a little country music from time to time,” she answers. “I never listens to music when I’m in my car as I find driving difficult enough without any other distractions, but when I get into my office (Zakiya’s day job is as a court manager in California State) I’ll often slip on something by Count Basie or Duke Ellington.”
Sharing lunch with this strong willed human being begs the question: In which way is Zakiya like her father? Ollan, who produced the last two of John Lee Hooker’s albums and both of Zakiya’s cuts to date is the ideal person to spot any similarities.
“She has the same feelings as her father. John was a very kind and giving person, Zakiya has these qualities. She has her father’s spirit. She also shares John’s eclectic timing. While everybody in the band would start on the first beat, John would come on the fourth or fifth, or whenever he felt ready. Zakiya is like this, but we’re working on it,” he answers.
Zakiya grins.
I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES
“The blues lets you express yourself. It’s like an empty canvas that you can fill with whatever you want.”
Zakiya Hooker
“It’s a state of mind. It’s not always bad; it can be about something wonderful.”
Ollan Christoper
"The blues don't make you poor, the blues don't bring you down. [The] blues is a thing, you get sad, like when things ain't going right...the blues picks you up. Blues is a pick-up, it's not a let-down."
John Lee Hooker
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